One Piece: sign-in to Ryujin Jakka

Doflamingo's eyes were filled with fury as he glared at the woman standing defiantly before him, Ain.

The crowd around them grew denser with each passing second.

Anyone who had lived on the Sabaody Archipelago for a while instantly recognized Doflamingo. The man was naturally infamous.

But Ain?

To the onlookers, she looked like nothing more than a low-ranking, off-duty Marine. A pretty face, sure, but easily forgettable.

After all, in a place like Sabaody, the occasional disappearance of a Marine barely raised an eyebrow.

"Such a pretty face," someone whispered, "but clearly lacking brains."

"Yeah," another nodded, "picking a fight with Doflamingo? She doesn't value her life."

"Do you people even know who he is? That's the JOKER—lord of the underworld!"

"He doesn't just control the dark side of Sabaody… even in the New World, his reach extends far and wide!"

The whispers continued to build.

Ain stood firm, unfazed by the murmurs or the man before her. Her voice was icy cold.

"I don't care who you are. Since you've appeared before me today, I will bring you to justice!"

"Fufufufufu…" Doflamingo let out a deranged chuckle. "That might be the funniest joke I've ever heard. You think you can arrest me with your strength? Perfect—I've been looking for someone to vent on. Well, you can go ahead and die now!"

Just as he raised his hand, intending to strike, a voice rang out from the crowd—loud and commanding.

"Doflamingo! This is the Sabaody Archipelago! If you dare attack a Marine, you will be punished!"

A figure stepped forward, parting the crowd like waves.

A man in a bright, floral pink shirt strode into view.

Ain's eyes widened in surprise. "Binz? Why are you here?"

Binz moved quickly, placing himself between Ain and Doflamingo. "I've been stationed here by Teacher Zephyr. Today just happens to be my patrol shift."

He turned to face Doflamingo, eyes burning with intensity.

Doflamingo's gaze sharpened. "I see hatred in those eyes… Don't tell me—did I kill your parents too?"

Binz's fists clenched, but he held his voice steady. "Ten years ago… on my birthday… You came to our island with your crew. Everyone was slaughtered—my parents, my neighbors. I was the only survivor."

Doflamingo let out another crazed laugh.

"Fufufufufu! That kind of story's far too common to my ears. Well then, since they're already dead—go join them!"

Boom!

In an instant, Doflamingo launched forward, faster than the eye could see.

Before Binz could even react, pain shot through his stomach. His organs twisted, his breath caught—his body curled in agony.

He never imagined Doflamingo would really attack so suddenly.

"You must hate me. If you had power, you'd already be clawing at my throat."

Doflamingo raised a hand, and from between his fingers, a white, razor-sharp string shimmered into view.

"On this sea," he sneered, "the strong eat the weak. You're weak. I'm strong. That means your fate… is death!"

He pulled his hand down.

The string followed.

A fatal blow was aimed at Binz.

Slash!

A burst of air surged forward.

Ain had attacked—her blade flashing with righteous fury.

But Doflamingo scoffed. "Parlor tricks. Are all Marines this pathetic?"

"Bullet String!"

He raised his index finger, retracting the others.

With a snap, the string fired from his fingertip like a bullet.

The gleaming thread tore through Ain's attack as if it were paper.

CRACK!

The slash shattered mid-air.

And the string kept going.

Straight toward Ain.

Her pupils shrank.

She wanted to use Soru to dodge—but behind her were civilians. If she moved, they would be caught in the blast.

She clenched her teeth.

She couldn't run.

Instead, she closed her eyes.

Braced for impact.

But the pain never came.

What she heard instead was—

BOOM!!!

The air trembled.

The ground quaked.

A massive force collided with the incoming attack and shattered it.

When Ain opened her eyes—

A tall figure stood before her.

A white cape billowed behind him, inscribed with the kanji for "Justice."

His hand, wrapped in black Armament Haki, had effortlessly crushed Doflamingo's attack.

White Dove—Roman—had arrived.

The crowd gasped.

Everyone—even Doflamingo—froze.

No one except a few had seen Roman and Ain together before.

Most had no idea that Ain was now Roman's adjutant.

Roman turned to Doflamingo with a soft smile.

But that smile, compared to Doflamingo's twisted grin, felt like sunlight piercing through storm clouds—opposite in every way.

"Nice to meet you, Doflamingo," Roman said mildly.

His voice wasn't loud.

It wasn't aggressive.

But the weight behind it was unmistakable.

Everyone heard it clearly.

Especially Doflamingo.

"Fufufufu… White Dove. Didn't expect to see you here."

Cold sweat trickled down his back.

He could feel the power radiating from this man.

And it terrified him.

"White Dove, I just want my slaves," Doflamingo said carefully. "Return them to me, and I'll pretend none of this happened."

Roman smiled even brighter.

"Pretend nothing happened?"

His eyes narrowed. "Is that how this works now?"

Ain felt a warmth bloom in her chest.

She knew Roman was standing up for her.

Doflamingo stiffened.

His instincts screamed at him.

He cursed his intelligence agents. How had they missed this?! A Marine Admiral was on the island, and no one told him?!

Roman tilted his head. "You just said… the world runs on the survival of the fittest, right?"

Doflamingo froze.

Those were his own words.

"'You're weak. I'm strong. That means your fate is death." Roman quoted him word-for-word.

The crowd was silent.

Sweat trickled.

The heat was stifling.

Something was about to erupt.

"I've got a bad feeling about this…"

"Me too… maybe we should back up."

"Agreed."

One by one, the crowd stepped away.

Eyes locked on the two figures at the center of it all.

Roman…

And Doflamingo.

Would they really clash here?

Right here, and right now?

But just right at that moment…